Winter tires are the best
I remember when I bought my first car, it was a blue Kia Rio hatchback. I recall the salesperson asking me about snow tires and I thought "why in the world would I need winter tires? I just bought a new car, which means new tires." I really believed that my all season tires were good enough.
Fast forward a few years, a few cars later and after learning more about road safety, I purchased winter tires and I'll never look back. I've experienced there is a vast difference between winter tires and the all season tires, even brand new all season tires, when it comes to traction on the road and stopping in snow.
Unlike Quebec, which requires all registered motorized vehicles to have winter tires from December 1 to March 15, most provinces don't require the use of winter tires and it's left to the discretion of each individual driver. If you haven't made the choice to switch over to winter tires, here are a few reasons that I hope will help you to change your decision;
- Braking and cornering on slippery surfaces is much more controlled
- Improves traction and control in frost, snow and icy conditions
- Shorten breaking distances by 25%
- You lengthen the life of your tires. Yes, it costs some upfront money to have the second set of tires, but you will probably lengthen the life of your tires and change them out much later than you would have with only one set of tires
- Most, important, is your safety and the safety of others on the road. If we're all using winter tires, it should reduce the fender benders that we often see in winter due to the vehicles inability to stop or maneuver.
